Convertible items of clothing comprise various parts, some of which may be used only optionally and/or are interchangeable with other parts, this offering the user the advantage of being able to wear the same item of clothing in different conditions and/or during any season of the year.
The patent U.S. Pat. No. 2,594,259 describes a convertible item of clothing comprising two parts, namely a jacket and a vest, which may be fixed to each other and therefore worn at the same time, for example during the winter season. The same zip fastener which fixes together the front portions of the vest is also used to attach the vest to the inner side of the jacket. The vest, which may be lined, may also be worn separately, i.e. without the jacket, but it is obvious that, in order to change from a first (“heavy”) configuration, where the jacket and vest are worn at the same time, to a second (“light”) configuration, the jacket must first be taken off before the vest can be removed Convertibility of the item of clothing is therefore not straightforward. Moreover, it is not possible to wear the vest on top of the jacket.
The patents U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,470,155, 4,864,656 and 5,718,000 describe other examples of convertible items of clothing, all of which have a somewhat complex structure and in which conversion between the various configurations is even less easy.
Object and subject-matter of the invention
For users it would be desirable, and this forms an object of the present invention, to provide items of clothing comprising a jacket and a vest which have a particularly simple structure and which can be very easily converted from one configuration to another.
These and other objects are achieved with an item of clothing having the characteristic features claimed below.